Phased array antennas can be used in a variety of different wireless communication networks, and they can be used to enable steering of the transmission and/or reception in both the azimuth and elevation planes. Steering transmission and reception allows for an antenna array to direct the transmission or reception resources towards a particular location, which can increase the system capacity, that is networks designed to provide service to mobile devices, there is increased interest in beam steering as it allows for better concentration of connectivity resources to the spatial locations that need them. A relatively large array is required in order to achieve desirable directivity. In conventional phased array design there is one phase shifter, delay line and/or amplitude control per array element. This increases both the cost and complexity of manufacture of the array. The operating bandwidth of the phased array system is usually limited by the operating bandwidth of the antenna elements as compared to its feed network which can be dictated by sub-array structure. In addition the sub-array structure provides a limited field of view array its steerablity is also a function to the individual antenna element directivity.
It is desirable to have an additional, alternative and/or improved combiner and will provide desired phases to individual elements for an overlapped linear sub-array for communication systems.